Saudi Coalition Strikes Fuel Depot Near Yemen's Capital
The coalition said the facility was used to fuel Houthi military operations, while the rebels vowed retaliation against Saudi cities.
The Saudi-led coalition announced it had carried out a strike on a fuel depot near Sanaa, the Houthi-controlled capital of Yemen. In a statement, coalition spokesperson Maj Gen Turki al-Maliki accused the rebels of using the Yemen Petroleum Company's al-Sabaha facility to fuel their war effort, including missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia.
The coalition had previously warned civilians to evacuate the site ahead of what it termed a "special operation." Houthi media reported that the facility had been struck before al-Maliki confirmed the strike.
In response to the strike and recent attacks on its territory, the Houthis have warned they will retaliate by targeting the airport and Aramco refinery in Riyadh, as well as Aramco's headquarters in Dammam. The Saudi cabinet, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, stated that the Iran-backed group would "bear the consequences" of recent deadly attacks on the kingdom.
These attacks include a missile strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday, which killed 13 people, and a similar attack the following day that killed one person. On Tuesday, the coalition reported destroying three drones north of Riyadh.
The Houthis have stated their targeting of Saudi airports, oil and gas facilities, and military bases is in retaliation for Saudi strikes on territory they control in western Yemen, including Sanaa.
The Saudi-led coalition has been providing air support for Yemeni pro-government forces engaged in an offensive along Yemen's Red Sea coast and other front lines. The ongoing conflict in Yemen began in 2014 when the Houthis ousted the internationally recognized government from Sanaa. The civil war escalated in 2015 with the intervention of the Saudi-led coalition.
An informal ceasefire that began in July started to unravel when the Houthis announced a "maritime embargo" against Saudi Arabia and initiated missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities, and tankers in the Red Sea. The Houthis claimed these actions were in retaliation for a perceived Saudi blockade of their territory and an air strike on Sanaa airport attributed to the kingdom.
The conflict intensified in September when the Houthis seized territory on Yemen's southwest Red Sea coast near the Bab al-Mandab Strait. This advance occurred amid six months of war between the US, Israel, and Iran, and contributed to a rise in oil prices. Last week, pro-government forces reported regaining control of territory overlooking the strait following a major counter-offensive supported by Saudi air strikes.
Since August, hundreds of people have reportedly been killed in Yemen. The UN's human rights office reported at least 54 civilian deaths, including half a dozen children. Over 216,000 people have been displaced, and suspected cholera cases have tripled in three weeks, increasing from 217 to 647, according to the UN.